


And he Said to the Sun, "Let Down Your Hair"

by knightinpinkunderwear



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Rapunzel Fusion, Gen, He and iroh own a tea shop, Jet is an ass sometimes, Lu Ten is alive, M/M, Originally on Wattpad, Ozai is a terrible father, Zuko is an Awkward Turtleduck, crossposted, prince!jet
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-23
Updated: 2017-09-08
Packaged: 2018-12-06 02:43:35
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,488
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11591274
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/knightinpinkunderwear/pseuds/knightinpinkunderwear
Summary: This is a strange Rapunzel AU. In which Zuko is an awkward kid who lives in a tower and rarely leaves because he doesn't trust the outside world (people have hurt him and he's rather be a hermit than be continually mistreated.) Jet isn't a psychopath...at least not really. He just likes to be a snarky asshole and explore.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> I drew a cover for this work here: http://nightinpinkunderwear.deviantart.com/art/COVER-679325234
> 
> This has not been beta-ed.

A figure cloaked in midnight darted with the evening breeze. Quick, agile, and silent, save for the soft, playful rustle of air against silk. The moon barely barely more than a tiny candle in the seemingly endless dark of the night with stars were shrouded in clouds, and whispering fog. The moonlight left a trace of its soft glow on the lone figure. The figure that clutched a small bundle to her chest. The figure was doing what any mother would do: protect her child, no matter the risks or sacrifices. To find a place where her child could safely grow. She ran. Into the wood, now pitch dark, next to none of the moon's soft rays seeping through the canopy of dark green. She wove through the woods like a leaf weaving it's way through a river. Through twists and turns, she remained vigilant, never once loosening her hold on the bundle cradled against her bosom. In the dampened moonlight she found her way to the refuge. A tower. A simple tower, light grey stone and tiled roof with several large windows. But no stairs or ladder in sight. Not that she would have risked it, this was to save her child. She was not going to lose him. Instead she ran around to the other side, opening the door with one hand and pulled out shut before ascending the hidden staircase quickly. Only when the trap door was secured did the figure relax, pulling off her hood and checking on her son, of only a year. Tiny eyes were blinking open, like two little match-flames, glowing, and golden.

"Shh, shh, it's alright. Mama's got you," the woman whispered, rocking the infant gently in her arms. Her little boy fell back into his slumber. She carefully toed into another room, gently lying her son down in a wooden crib. The wood was as smooth as glass with no splinters to be seen. A name was intricately carved into the facade: Zuko. The woman took off the dark cloak, and with it left a sigh. Her son was safe at long last. Now she would never need to worry about her husband coerce and convert him into a monster. The same way he did Azula, the boy's older sister. Azula had been a perfect child, but the man quickly changed her. Made her into a fearless, unsympathetic little monster, and she was still only four years of age.

 

* * *

 

 

"Sun upping! Mama! Sun upping!" Ursa opened her golden eyes to meet the matching gold of her son. A bubbly boy of three. She smiled at her child, and rising out of bed to watch the sky change colors as the sun rose. Zuko loved the beautiful colors. Last week they had made a hand print on a circular stone. And she was teaching him paints. Ursa lifted Zuko so that he was sitting on her hip. "'s purple!" He exclaimed, pointing at the periwinkle turning lavender sky.

"Yes, it is. Good job, sweetie!" the mother praised. The little boy gave a proud, white smile.

 

* * *

 

 

A boy stood between Dai Li guards. His downcast gaze focused on the floor. He had a mop of unruly brown hair, over tanned skin. His eyes were narrow and dark colored.

"What is this?"

"Your Majesty, this trouble maker is being reported to prison" a business-like voice explained.

"Nonsense, he's just a boy" a young voice brushed off.

"But-"

"Release him,-" King Kuei, a young man only twenty years of age stated.

"But-"

"Release him, the King's son ought not to be imprisoned." there was a finality in those words that made the guards obey his orders. The boy gave him a look of gratitude. "Now son, let's get you home." The boy looked up at the man with curious eyes. He hadn't been called son in a year. He hadn't even had family for at least a year. But this strange man, with bright green eyes behind round spectacles had claimed to be his father. Had called him his son. Jet had forgotten how nice it felt, to be called son. So when the man turned and nobly marched he followed. And the pair walked back into the grand palace of the Earth Kingdom.

 

* * *

 

 

Zuko had decided he wanted long hair when he was five. He wanted long hair just like his mama. It was only shoulder length then, but smooth and silky in its deep-brown-not-quite-black hue. It was sleek, straight, and soft like his mother's too.

 

* * *

 

 

A whirlwind of steps, catching up the hidden stairs recklessly. The trapdoor slammed open, crashing loudly against the tile floor. But that was hardly a whisper, the sound that caught Ursa's attention came form her son. He had been thirteen and ready to face the world when he left that morning. With a bright, cheerful face and that shine in his eyes. Now his hair was a rat's nest and his clothes were in disarray. He had a hand clamped over one eye and the other was red with dried tears shining on his face. Zuko was a wreck. Ursa rushed towards her son, panic running deep through her blood. Zuko was hurt, her little boy, her son was hurt. With maternal grace she gently pried his hands away from his face. It was a mess. Skin had been burnt off, his left eye had taken the brunt of the blow. And the eyelid was barely there. He was sniffing and shaking and sobbing. There was blood under his finger tips and his clothes were ripped and singed at the edges, as if someone had tried to pry them off his body. As a mother she was terrified, enraged, and miserable. She pushed back the storm and all its questions to instead grab the first aid. She tenderly bandaged him up, wiping sticky salves where there were burns or bruises, giving him a new shirt and pants. She kissed his forehead, trying to press all the comfort and love into the simple touch.

"I'll never go out there again" her son rasped between softening sobs.

"Who did this to you?" The mother whispered, vying to someday make the culprit pay. She was a woman like a turtleduck --peaceful and caring until you messed with her babies, then you had better run.

"Another firebender." Zuko sniffed. His mother wrapped her arms around him. Warmth. Like a hearth, with its beating pulse and breaths soothing his spirit. Moment by moment his breaths calmed. "I love you Mom" the boy whispered.

"I love you too, sweetie." His mother answered, softly. She couldn't help but think that it was Ozai's fault. He was the monster manipulating his people into ruthless killers. Into monsters that wouldn't hesitate to attack a child.


	2. Meeting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They main characters meet.

Jet sprinted. Cherishing the wind combing through his messy hair and playfully tugging at his clothes. He ran. He needed to. Otherwise he'd be caught and have to go back to the Earth palace, back home. Home was nice, but it was too empty, not enough friends or adventures for a teenager who'd already done everything that he possibly could while within those walls. Being a Prince wasn't always an experience he enjoyed. He would rather run until his feet screamed and climb until his limbs were well past sore, but it was not entirely respectable for a prince to constantly be a stinky and sweaty mess. Not that he really cared. His father, the Earth King, was alright ( _amazing_ ), trying to raise him to be a proper respectable prince that would someday be king. But that required a lot of sitting and standing still, neither of which were things he was known for being able to do for extended periods of time. So, he ran. Weaving between trees like a leaf dancing on the surface of a stream. Warm, yellow sunlight made the underbrush glow with various shades of greens and yellows. A natural stain glass mosaic of colour. He jumped over roots and fallen branches, loving every crunch of his feet hitting the small twigs and tough soil. Jet spotted a bunch of hanging vines. Deciding to take a chance he ran through them, relieved that it wasn't solid stone behind, like last week. Instead was a passage. Jet slowed. At the end of the passage there was a hidden clearing surrounded by high stone cliffs. There was a stream and tall trees and...a tower? He shrugged internally as he continued towards it. Letting curiosity get the best of him, he set off on another adventure. Finding what was in the tower. Jet put all of his seventeen years of experience climbing to the test. Digging his nails into each gap between the grey stone blocks and scaling to the top easily. He yanked the shuttered window open and jumped in, taking in his new surroundings. Red curtains, clean stone floor, stairs up against the wall leading onto a different level, and every inch of the walls painted. The paintings were beautiful, intricate and very colorful. Jet stared in awe. That one of them, it had a woman playing with a little child and next to it was a small circle stone with a child's hand print in the middle. A soft thud and a clatter sounded, the echoes bouncing off the painted walls. Jet turned, there was something on the floor. A plate and a sandwich, and bare feet. Pale bare feet. Attached to pale legs. Jet's eyes traveled upward. It was someone his age, with smooth flawless pale skin like a China doll. The person had dark hair that seemed ebony black and looked like strands of silk. Their hair fell past clothed knees. The hair acted like the red curtains, blocking most of the pale stranger's face from view. But what he did see was a luminous, shining, golden eye. The teen's mouth was hanging open and eye wide. They were wearing an orange tunic with yellow trim and brown trousers. The hair was pooling at the stranger's feet, like a long waterfall or a dark veil. Spirits, that was a lot of hair. Even Jet's dad didn't grow his hair that long.

"How did you find me?" the boy asked, though it seemed more like a demand. His voice was...it was...Jet didn't know how to describe it but he did know that it sounded nice in a kind of scratchy way. It was like trying to explain why the sky was blue. It just. . . was.

"I don't know." Jet answered rather dumbly. He wasn't really trying to find anything in particular he just wanted something to do. Something new before he had to go back to the Earth Palace.

"Who are you? And how did you find me?" the beautiful boy asked, teeth clenched, threatening and on edge. He stood his ground, Jet could almost feel his stance hardening.

"My name 's Jet, I already said I don't know." Jet answered, "So, what's your name?" He was itching to know more about the stranger who (possibly) lived in a secluded tower in the middle of the forest. It was an interesting thing, to be living alone in a secluded tower in the middle of the forest, it didn't happen that often. Well, if it did, Jet supposed not many would know about it.

"How can you not know?!" his lone eyebrow was drawn close to his unmarred luminous golden eye. He was kind of ( _really_ ) pretty.

"I wasn't trying to find anything, I was just running." The answer was met with a half scowl of confusion, and some awkward tense silence. "So, what's your name?"

"Zuko. My name is Zuko. Now, why are you here?" Zuko's voice was guarded, firm, and cautious.

"Why are you here?" Jet retaliated.

"I asked you first." The boy's voice was raising, Jet was starting to get on his nerves.

"I asked you second." Jet couldn't help it, the boy (Zuko) was so fun to bother. Instead of speaking Zuko glared at him for 30 seconds.

" _This_ , is my home." the paler of the two stated defensively. The message was clear: don't you dare insult my home. Jet understood that easily. He also took the hint to back off on the snark.

"Why do live here?" Jet asked, abandoning his teasing tone for a much more earnest one.

"Because this is my home, I've always lived here." Zuko had gotten a bit more defensive.

"Have you ever left? I don't think I've seen you around," Zuko rolled his eyes.

"Yes, I've been outside." The answer almost gave the impression that Zuko was getting too irritated to continue the conversation. Which if Jet was honest, had happened to him a bit often.

"Do you want to get out of here?"

"No." Zuko responded curtly.

"Why not?" He paused "Did something happen when you went out?" silence was the only answer. "What happened?" Zuko let out a deep breath, then he pulled back his hair. Jet's eyes widened. "Who-? How could someone do something this despicable?" Jet was about ready to murder. He always had a hot temper. "It was a firebender wasn't it?!" Zuko nodded, his uneasiness evident on his face. "I _hate_ firebenders!" Silence followed the exclamation. Zuko dropped the nervous look on his eye, his jaw clenched and his brow came down to match the scowl of his scar.

" _I_ , am a firebender" the scarred boy said between clenched teeth, holding a hand out. In his palm a small flame flickered and danced. Jet could almost see the heat rising off the angered firebender.

"I-I didn't mean- I just- but...I don't hate you?" he fumbled, the words tripping out of his mouth like clumsy toddlers. Zuko lifted his only eyebrow. He was still scowling, obviously the comment had bothered him. Jet screwed up, now he was ashamed and embarrassed, no one had ever called him out when he'd said those sort of things before, but then he was a prince. Princes usually were not the sort that got called out or corrected. Jet had always assumed he had great people skills, now he wasn't quite so sure. "Sorry, I just, I guess I'm not really that good with people."

"Join the club" the firebender replied dryly, somehow the sarcasm brought a smile to Jet's lips. It was a forgiveness of sorts, or at least a chance to start over with his first impression.

"I'm Jet," the prince extended his hand. Gold eyes narrowed in confusion.

"You already said that."

"I know- I just... want to make up for my terrible first impression."

"If it's any consolation I don't think you could do worse now, if you tried." Zuko shook his hand, Jet chuckled.

"You've got me there." Jet smiled, and this time the other boy smiled back. It was a confused sort of smile, confused but still friendly. Jet decided he liked that smile.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That was chapter one! I hoped you liked it! Please comment, comments are my lifeblood.


End file.
